


Flowers of the Heart

by FluffFailure



Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-24
Updated: 2016-09-24
Packaged: 2018-08-17 00:28:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8123533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FluffFailure/pseuds/FluffFailure
Summary: Reunion from Sorey's POV, from when he woke up to when he met Mikleo again





	

A low, soft rumble echoed in his ears.

Bright light covered him as he opened his eyes, preventing him from seeing what was ahead. He could not remember a thing, including his name.

“Who are you?” – He asked the presence he sensed in front of him. That being seemed familiar, but he did not know why. However, he somehow knew that person held the key to the answer he needed.

“Nice to meet you again, Seraph Sorey. Allow me to introduce myself one more time. I am Maotelus, a seraph, just like you.”

“Maotelus... one of the Five Lords?”

“It seems you can at least remember your knowledge, I am glad. That will make it easier for you to go outside.” – Maotelus stopped for a while, choosing his words carefully – “Do you know why you are here? In what era were you born?”

Sorey tilted his head – “I don’t know.” – He answered honestly. The moment he heard his name, there was a fragment of memory coming along with it, but that fragment did not answer those questions, as it was about someone else. Someone that might even be more important than himself.

“For that, I have to apology.” – Maotelus said, sad voice bore hundreds of words – “You were the only Shepherd in Age of Chaos – the era when you first opened your eyes. That means, yes, you used to be a human. After quelling the Lord of Calamity, you suggested me using you as my vessel, to protect me from malevolence in this world, so that the blessing for Glenwood would return. And in exchange, it cost you... your time.”

“My time?”

“It has been more than 500 years since you fell asleep, Sorey. The people you knew have lived, grown, and changed. Some of them have even...”

 _Passed away._ Sorey could understand that reality. Still, it was so hard to accept.

“But I am glad I could help you, along with many others. If it took that much determination, then I guess it was my answer – something I had been thinking very seriously about. And I believe there were also people supporting me on that.” – Sorey instinctively thought of the person in his memory as he said, wondering how that person was right now, without him by their side.

“Then, can you do me one more favour?”

“Yes?”

“I need you to find... a person.” – Sorey could feel how thoughtful Maotelus was, by listening to that voice – “A seraph, to be precise. He has just returned from the land beyond the sea, and is now heading toward the mountain range far in the north, in which a volcano stands and a river flows inside its cavern. Find him, then do what your heart tells you. Experience your story yourself. Come up with your own answer.”

Sorey stayed silent for a moment, eyes gazing far away. There was something he should confirm, as it had been bugging him for a while. Sorey felt his heart racing with every word he spoke.

“Could that person you talked about... have any connection to someone named ‘Mikleo’?”

 

_“Why don’t you go and find out?” – Maotelus suggested._

The field of Camlann was now full of flowers – real flowers, gently swaying in the wind and giving out wonderful aroma, not the kind of plant hellions that swung their ‘arms’ around and chanted spells. Anemone had the greatest number among them, Sorey noticed, wondering why – it didn't seemed like just because the earth here suited them the most.

Maotelus told him that once a human turned seraph, their likes and dislikes would remain, but their memories would be erased except for the most important ones. Therefore, the seraph in his memory – Mikleo – was surely someone he used to hold the dearest.

As he took a walk around Camlann, something piqued his interest. The 11-floor Elaine Ruin let him know that his hobby had been ‘exploring’, yet Sorey wasn’t as excited as he should be, seeing how well ‘time’ had been preserved in this place. His heart kept telling him something – someone – was missing, someone who used to be there all the time to share his curiosity.

_“Do you really think this is your dream alone?” – “This is our dream.”_

“Mikleo...” – He whispered, the answer was clear on his mind.

Still, he hadn’t remembered that person’s face. Actually, Sorey now had the general ideas of what he looked like: white hair, violet eyes, a circlet with a green gem on his forehead. Sorey hoped other details would return to his memories soon as he made his way to the first floor, and found himself ended up in Glaivend Basin.

The once battle field was now blessed with life. Similar to Camlann, plants had started to grow back; horses could be found anywhere – they must have been the offspring of war horses that had escaped death. After wandering for an hour, there he found a small grave, the name on which had faded along with the flow of time. Sorey knelt down in front of the grave, hand reaching out as if to grab the familiar feeling the object emitted.

Suddenly, a fragment of Sorey’s memory was unlocked upon touching that grave.

_An ill-fated seraph was captured, poisoned with the thick malevolence the war bred. A monstrous dragon was born. And Sorey, with a certain white-haired seraph by his side, took the burden – killed – saved that sorrowful existence. And here, together, they built this grave._

“Mikleo...” – That name escaped his lips again. Sorey felt the presence of other people in his memory, but they were all blurs, unlike Mikleo’s. And the sensation of the – _what was it called? Oh,_ \- armatization sent a warm, tender wave throughout his body.

It felt like home.

 

The sky turned dark while Sorey was heading toward the direction of Maotelus’s instructions, so he decided to rest outside for the night. The once Shepherd was easily captured by the beauty of the starry sky – the sky that he was somehow sure to have gazed up together with his water seraph, on a night of destiny.

An unforgettable night even, as his dream brought him back to a 500-year distant past.

_“I forget who said it. That there are as many emotions as stars in the sky._

_There is something I learned from this journey. Some stars you cannot see. And because you cannot see them, you think they are not shinning. But they are._

_Once people notice the stars, they started to understand just how brilliantly they shine.”_

_Mikleo quietly listened as Sorey explained what he planned to do after the last battle. The seraph was shocked, and sadness could be seen in his eyes..._

_“By bonding with Maotelus, you will be abandoned in time. It could take years... It could take centuries._

_What about your dream? Aren’t you going to go off exploring ruins around the world?”_

_“My dream will live on, so long as I don’t forget.”_

_... still, he didn’t make any objection._

_“Very well.”_

_“Thank you, Mikleo.”_

It wasn’t a nightmare at all, no, but Sorey must have cried a lot, hence the tears running down his cheeks. The sky was now painted a faint red, since the sun was about to rise. He called that name one more time – the name of someone who wasn’t just ‘important’, but an existence he could not live without.

“Mikleo...”

But this time, Sorey added,

“... I will see you again soon.” 

 

The volcano he was looking for was now standing in front of him.

Sorey felt his heart racing – why wouldn’t it if he was going to meet Mikleo again? During the trip, his memories had been coming back more and more, as if reacting to the shortening distance between him and the seraph in those fragments. Taking a deep breath to calm his wildly beating heart, Sorey went for a search around the volcano. Soon enough, he found it – a passage that led to the cavern underneath. As he was about to take a step inside, Sorey’s heart missed a beat.

The sound of someone else’s footsteps was just up ahead.

He didn’t even pay attention to the blazing heat that greeted him when he followed that person inside the cavern. After a walk that felt like forever, the person stopped, with a hand placed on his chin, and lifted his face up to take in the astonishing sight of the ruin before his eyes.

Normally, Sorey would do the same. But right now, he could not take his eyes off the person in his vision.

As if his focus was so intense that it created its own presence, the person turned his head back, face bearing a confused expression.

Ah, Sorey remembered that face.

Everything was exactly the same: the gentleness in his eyes, his bangs, the outline of his face. No, his hair had grown slightly longer, so now it was tied neatly behind his head.

Sorey drank in the sight he had been waiting so long for: Mikleo, standing there – the most beautiful of all.

But there was one more thing Sorey could see, even from this distance. Mikleo’s eyes now held something more than just gentleness, something that definitely was not there in the past – something that made his heart throb.

_Loneliness._

But there was also something that radiated even more.

_Hope._

 

Turning his head forward, Mikleo seemed to have thought the presence he sensed was only his imagination. Sorey didn’t know why he had yet to call out for the water seraph – Maotelus would just say that was something Sorey’s heart told him – but he kept on tailing Mikleo as he walked deeper into the ruin.

The heat of the volcano had lessened the closer they get to the underground river. Even though water was the easiest to be corrupted, the one in the next room they found was perfectly pure. Mikleo’s footsteps continued to echo between the walls until he finally stopped, to touch the turquoise-coloured stone carved on the altar in the centre of the room.

The next moment, everything seemed to happen in slow motion.

The ground, which surely had aged with time, collapsed beneath Mikleo’s feet. The water seraph could only let out a surprised gasp before falling down, hand reaching out for the air.

Sorey dashed forward instinctively, hoping with all his mind that he would make it in time.

And he did.

 _Ah, this does not change at all_ – Sorey thought as he held the slender hand more firmly, feeling the warmth flowing from that hand to his heart.

Mikleo glanced up. When his eyes fell on the figure holding his hand, they opened wide in disbelief, then quickly softened. Sorey felt his soul once again – after 500 years – held captive in those violet eyes the moment their gazes connected.

Mikleo’s lips formed a smile – Sorey wondered how long it had been since the last time he held such a genuine one. It was neither a sad nor a happy smile – it was a smile that held a mixture of thousands emotions. Emotions for Sorey only.

 

_(“Could I get a little help, please?” - Mikleo asked – a little embarrassed. This, too, must be another fragment of memory.)_

Mikleo remained speechless all the time Sorey pulled him up, and just knelt there, eyes never left Sorey as the brunette struggled to regain his breath.

Their eyes met again.

“Mikleo...” – Sorey whispered, not knowing why he kept his voice low.

There was only silence that answered his call.

“Mikleo...”

Sorey started to be afraid. Mikleo would not be mad at him for leaving, no matter how long he was made to wait. But did he still remember Sorey?

500 years had passed. It would not be strange if Mikleo had moved on with his life, made new friends, or even fell in love with someone. If that had been so, then the memory of Sorey would have been pushed to the back of his mind. Even his appearance might be difficult for Mikleo to recall.

Although Sorey always wished for Mikleo to be able to live a happy life at any cost, he was still afraid. So long as Mikleo remembered him, there would be a mark that held him in place. But if Sorey had been forgotten, he would truly ‘be abandoned in time’.

But this possibility could not explain Mikleo’s expression when Sorey grabbed his hand, the brunette reminded himself. So he decided not to throw away his hope yet.

“Mik-...” – He was silenced as something crashed into his chest. Sorey could no longer see Mikleo’s face, since it was now leaning over his shoulder, while Mikleo’s arms wrapped so tightly around his torso that it hurt a little.

“Sorey, Sorey, Sorey...” – His name was repeated among sobs. He also held Mikleo in an assuring embrace, his hand patted Mikleo on the back gently.

“Mikleo, I am already here...”

“... Sorey, Sorey, Sorey...” – Mikleo refused to stop. He continued chanting Sorey’s name like a mantra, as if the only word he ever knew was ‘Sorey’.

The white-haired one’s tears felt wet on Sorey’s neck, while his own tears felt wet on his cheeks. Mikleo hadn’t yet said anything else other than his name – probably to make up for each day he could not call it. Every time Sorey’s name was called, he felt like a needle had just pierced through his heart. He was sure that the Sorey of that night in Lastonbell had only thought about how painful Mikleo would be, having to be left alone, but not how painful the Sorey of 500 years later would feel, seeing Mikleo collapse in his arms like this. Sorey could not speak any more – his thinking ability was now dulled due to the throbbing in his chest. He could only tighten his embrace, feeling the shivers running through the body which was pressed against his. So in the end, it was Mikleo who broke the chain of sobs and his name that seemed to last for eternity.

“Sorey, I m-miss you. I miss you so... so... so much...”

“I know, Mikleo.” – Sorey was the same: even though he had just woken up and his memory was still missing a lot, there wasn’t a single day that his heart didn’t yearn for his significant other.

“I am so happy you still remember me... I was so scared... scared that you would not recognize me anymore.” - Mikleo was now facing Sorey, hands clutching the front of his shirt – his grasp was so strong, so desperate that his knuckles turned white, fearing that Sorey would disappear if he didn't.

“I kind of promised you that I would not forget, didn’t I?” – Sorey’s hand, which was bigger and more callous than Mikleo’s, lifted and wiped away the tears remaining on the water seraph’s cheeks.

“Not that I don’t trust you, Sorey, it is just...” – Mikleo leant his face on Sorey’s palm, which the brunette found endearing – “I can’t help being anxious. I would not know what to do if that nightmare turned out to be true... - wait, forget it!” – His eyes opened wide again at the realization of what had slipped.

“You had nightmare?” – Sorey’s face turned pale. He grabbed Mikleo’s shoulders and pulled the seraph ahead, so that their noses were close to touching – “Oh great Maotelus, Mikleo, I am...”

“Don’t.” – said Mikleo, a forefinger pressed on Sorey’s lips – “It is not your fault, Sorey. We agreed on that together – I had prepared to accept any consequences.” – Mikleo averted his eyes while mumbling quietly – “And it is not like every dream was nightmare either.” – The water seraph looked back, and smiled contentedly – “In the end, we can finally have our time together, in a peaceful world we created ourselves.”

Sorey’s time had frozen for 500 years, and surely there would be a lot more things for Mikleo to tell, a lot more things for the two to discover together, but they all could wait. For now, he just needed to say these words.

“Mikleo, I am back.”

“Welcome back, Sorey.”

 

 

It had already been evening when they made it back outside the cavern. Sorey once again gazed up to the starry sky above, but this time with Mikleo – only Mikleo – by his side. 

“The moon is beautiful tonight, right Mikleo?” - Sorey's question came between the rhythmic sounds of water, and Mikleo only nodded, a strange atmosphere could be sensed around him. The underground river resurfaced where they stood, creating a small lake as a final goodbye to the mountain range that once protected it before flowing somewhere far away. 

_(After a short pause... - “I will tell you if I remember.” - Mikleo's voice lowered, as if promising himself. Sorey wondered what the other was feeling, leaving his thought unsaid like that._

_So he asked, in an understanding tone -_ _“For real?”_

_“For real.” - The seraph nodded firmly, then turned into a blue orb of light residing within his Shepherd, which ended their conversation.)_

"The sight here surely reminds me of Elysia. And... another important thing." – Sorey turned around to look at the water seraph, the lake glistening from behind his figure. He could tell the white-haired one was nervous, since his left hand was grabbing his right elbow stiffly – an act he always did whenever there was something bugging his mind.   

“Sorey, uhm..., can you at least still recall... that day in Elysia when I said I forgot what I wanted to tell you?”

“Have you just remembered it?” – The question itself was a confirmation. Sorey walked closer to Mikleo, excitement and curiosity in his voice – “Do you want to tell me now?”

Mikleo fidgeted for a moment, biting his lower lip. Then suddenly, he blurted out (probably having thrown away all the plans in his head, Sorey thought afterward).

“I love you.”

 

And as chaste as he was, Sorey looked Mikleo deep in the eyes, his smile radiated more than the sun.

“I love you too.”

A blush crept up Mikleo’s cheeks, even more visible because of his white hair and pale skin. Sorey could proudly declare that _his_ Mikleo was more beautiful than the moon itself.

His right hand was placed on Mikleo’s chin, while the other offered no resistance, thus bringing their lips together in a soft but passionate kiss.

 

“Do you know, Mikleo?” – Sorey asked, remembering something – “When I woke up, Camlann had already been full of anemone. I wonder why that was – they were not as common in the last Earthen Historia we saw.”

They camped near the lake that night, and went to sleep together in the same mattress. Now the other was again secured in Sorey’s embrace – something the brunette had always wanted to do on their journey, but never got the chance until now, since Mikleo was too easily embarrassed at the presence of their companions.

“I was the one who planted them.” – Mikleo explained, eyes seeming to stare into nothing, or dared he guess, the past – “I brought them as a gift for you, as soon as malevolence started to lessen enough for plants to grow back normally. I thought you would love to see some flowers when you open your eyes once more.”

Mikleo’s gifts had always had their own meanings – this time definitely wasn’t an exception. Sorey could vividly guess the reason for Mikleo’s choice of flower, but he still wanted to hear it from Mikleo himself.

“Why anemone? Could it be because of their meaning?”

Mikleo nodded with his head buried in Sorey’s chest. – “I miss you, Sorey.”

Sorey still had not known much about what Mikleo held locked inside his heart for all the years he was left alone, so even if they were painful, Sorey was willing to listen.

“I told you, Sorey, didn’t I?” – Mikleo whispered again after a short silence – “Not all of my dreams about you were nightmares. There were ones where I could meet you again, ones where you said you loved me, and ones where we kissed. They were indeed happy, but because they were mere dreams, they were also cruel. When I woke up the next morning and realized you weren’t there... I was simply... desperate.” – His body trembled as if he was crying once more, and Sorey felt like there was something squeezing his heart.

The brunette settled his hand among the white locks, and took a deep breath full of Mikleo’s scent – the scent that held the power to soothe his racing heartbeats.

“But I am here at last, ain’t I?” – He asked, planting a light kiss on Mikleo’s forehead.

“So that’s why, Sorey... When I wake up tomorrow, please stay by my side. This happiness is so sudden, and it is possible that my half-asleep mind would simply consider it a dream, which would be very _, very frightening_. I would need the clearest evidence in the world to confirm what happened today is reality – that you have truly returned to me. Please, Sorey...” – Mikleo was basically begging, and the thought of refusing that request could never cross Sorey’s mind.   

“I promise, Mikleo... I will not go anywhere.”

Mikleo let out a peaceful sigh and fell to sleep an instant later. Sorey ignored the tears rolling from his eyes, having decided not to wipe them away in fear of waking the water seraph.

He will be here next morning. Always by Mikleo’s side every morning after that.

For Mikleo was his most precious person. His one and only.

 


End file.
